Poker Nation: A High-Stakes, Low-Life Adventure into the Heart of a Gambling Country

Readers who enjoy poker will love Poker Nation, an energetic and obsessive account of America's favorite card game, told with intelligence and panache. Andy Bellin writes in the first person and from the gut, recounting stories about poker fanatics (himself among them) and dispensing advice on how to play the game: "You have to maximize profits through guile and savvy, eke out every last dollar that your competition is willing to lose to you--and, when you don't have the winning cards, flee as fast as possible." Aphorisms leap off the pages: "The worst hand in poker is the second-best one at the table" and "People say the mark of a con is in the details." Whether readers prefer the anecdotes about double-bluffing and illegal poker clubs or the tips on when to hold and when to fold (there's even a table showing the "Chances of Drawing Helpful Cards from a Deck of Forty-Seven Unknown Cards"), anybody interested in its subject matter will find Poker Nation engrossing. --John Miller